Page 89 - DMGT402_MANAGEMENT_PRACTICES_AND_ORGANIZATIONAL_BEHAVIOUR

Management Practices and Organisational Behaviour

Notes prepared, the next step in the management process is to organise the activities of the enterprise
to execute the plan and to attain the objectives of the enterprise. The term organisation is given
a variety of interpretations. In any case, there are two broad ways in which the term is used.
In the first sense, organisation is understood as a dynamic process and a managerial activity
which is necessary for bringing people together and tying them together in the pursuit of
common objectives.
When used in the other sense, organisation refers to the structure of relationships among
positions and jobs which is built up for the realisation of common objectives.
Without organising managers cannot function as managers. Organisation is concerned with the
building, developing and maintaining of a structure of working relationships in order to
accomplish the objectives of the enterprise. Organisation means the determination and assignment
of duties to people, and also the establishment and the maintenance of authority relationships
among these grouped activities. It is the structural framework within which the various efforts
are coordinated and related to each other. Sound organisation contributes greatly to the continuity
and success of the enterprise. The distinguished industrialist of America, Andrew Carnegie has
shown his confidence in organisation by stating that: "Take away our factories, take away our
trade, our avenues of transportation, our money, leave nothing but our organisation, and in
four years we shall have re-established ourselves." That shows the significance of managerial
skills and organisation. However, good organisation structure does not by itself produce good
performance. But a poor organisation structure makes good performance impossible, no matter
how good the individual may be.

4.1 Organising – The Process

Organisation is the process of establishing relationship among the members of the enterprise.
The relationships are created in terms of authority and responsibility. To organise is to harmonise,
coordinate or arrange in a logical and orderly manner. Each member in the organisation is
assigned a specific responsibility or duty to perform and is granted the corresponding authority
to perform his duty. The managerial function of organising consists in making a rational division
of work into groups of activities and tying together the positions representing grouping of
activities so as to achieve a rational, well coordinated and orderly structure for the
accomplishment of work. According to Louis A Allen, "Organising involves identification and
grouping the activities to be performed and dividing them among the individuals and creating
authority and responsibility relationships among them for the accomplishment of organisational
objectives." The various steps involved in this process are:

1. Determination of Objectives: It is the first step in building up an organisation. Organisation
is always related to certain objectives. Therefore, it is essential for the management to
identify the objectives before starting any activity. Organisation structure is built on the
basis of the objectives of the enterprise. That means, the structure of the organisation can
be determined by the management only after knowing the objectives to be accomplished
through the organisation. This step helps the management not only in framing the
organisation structure but also in achieving the enterprise objectives with minimum cost
and efforts. Determination of objectives will consist in deciding as to why the proposed
organisation is to be set up and, therefore, what will be the nature of the work to be
accomplished through the organisation.
2. Enumeration of Objectives: If the members of the group are to pool their efforts effectively,
there must be proper division of the major activities. The first step in organising group
effort is the division of the total job into essential activities. Each job should be properly
classified and grouped. This will enable the people to know what is expected of them as

84 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY